Growing Pains
by RuffRydeR
Summary: The trials, tribulations and triumphs of the young warrior/princess of Wu. Set in the early years of the Sun Family's ups and downs. Kindly R & R. Alternate History. Chapter 7 up!
1. Blaze of Glory

**Growing Pains**

Just get in the way? That's why? Humph!

Stuck in this stifling little tent, slouched over, waiting uselessly, helplessly. It was such a terrible feeling. Leaning back on this uncomfortable bed, all dressed up with nowhere to go, just waiting for the news. Not like it'd be anything new, anyways. It was going to be the usual expected same old, same old. The General goes, the General fights, the General…He damn well conquers, alright!

But yes, no reason to expect anything different this time around…Well, not anymore. To think there had been such high hopes for this day. Hopes that included riding alongside a great warrior…Two even! Maybe three! And going into the thrill and glory of the fight, just helping out, doing what was necessary to bring peace to this land. Just simple things any warrior, any leader would wish to do. Things these hands and the weapons they wielded, longed to do. Yet they sat her, wielder, weapon and all…Useless.

Such a waste…Why would a willing fighter be marooned in their tent instead of out there, fighting the good fight? Another keen blade, another sharp mind, another fine edge-wasn't that always a necessity on the front lines?

A dagger lay sheathed, resting on the soft silken sheets, just on the edge of where the bed's frame was now unnaturally curved downwards, a slight depression. The lithe figure that sat upon it felt the weight of such denial hanging heavy upon her shoulders, making her sink in even deeper.

A sword in its scabbard, a quiver full of arrows, a sturdy and sleek bow, finely made, crafted well and rather elaborately ornamented, possibly never intended by the maker and maybe even the purchaser to see battle. Weapons purely for ceremonies, entertainment and sport, they were. A gift of sorts and a warning as well against any further adventures with that weapon. Of course, its current possessor had other ideas, but today, those had been foiled.

Yes, there were many other things in the tent. It was a fine place, and fairly large too, for a temporary home, though, today it was rather deserted and desolate, deplete of the usual laughter and cheer that had adorned it in recent days. But these four items were all that mattered to the restless warrior, breathing heavily in the midst of the stillness, eying them, fiddling with them, and finally, laying them out in front of dangling feet, sandals having been tossed off to the side for comfort a while ago.

Nothing to do but wait, once more, like always, like every other time and every other campaign that had been conducted by that daring lord, and find out what had happened from tales of battlefield glory so sweet, so pure, that to listen to them trounced all poetry and music, all dance and drawing. Sure, every other time before, it had been a younger, more naive wait, a simple surety and faith, replaced by curiosity and wilfulness, and finally, impatience and eagerness to drink from the same cup, as siblings past had done.

Yet, that path had been so forcefully turned away, time and again, from this spirited combatant, for reasons so obvious to just about everyone but her.

Yes. Her.

Sun Shang Xiang slumped down even further, dull, dreary, disappointed, her usually cheery expression replaced, for the moment, by a silent resignation. She'd pushed the slight slip of a dream as far as it could go, as inconceivable as it was to actually become a reality. But yes, her main opposition had finally beaten her, right here, on the battlefield, and no, it wasn't in a fight or anything…Simply a lack of resources to conduct any more resistance. It had been quite the determined campaign from her since she'd gotten the idea years back, at a younger age, and all that training, hours spent with the bow and the blade, had culminated in this effort to force her way onto the field of honour.

Even getting caught after successfully sneaking off with the army had been a slight setback then, but now, she was separated from her closest allies, and best friends, her handmaidens, and out of contact with those she relied on. Under guard, kept away from harm, in her little tent, stuck in this sheltered, silent world she had been forcibly ensconced in. And so the fabled General had defeated her as well, may the Heavens curse his own stubbornness. Why did her parents just have to be so darn set upon stopping her? She knew why. They'd hoped it was a passing fancy that struck children. After all, having raised so many before her, what could go wrong with indulging her? But when it grew more and more serious…Then, all the worries started.

Fists clenched and opened as thoughts of all the discomfort and hassle she'd gone through to get here came through her head, only to meet with failure. She'd enjoyed all of it then, back when she'd thought she'd get a chance to someday put it to use, alongside her brothers, and those great men that followed her hero, her father. Now, it truly dawned upon her, had been shoved in her face, and rather irately too, that it had all been for naught. Her father had called it to her face as a simple amusement to him, something he'd provided her, simply to preoccupy her spirited personality during her spare time. Who'd ever heard of a woman being a warrior? Preposterous! What would have ever given her such an idea? Why, gosh, every darn day you let me keep at this amusement of mine!? Don't be silly. Of course, she would be a housewife. And so were dreams idly ground into dust.

Bruises and blister and sore aching muscles and raw inflamed flesh…Just about every unladylike affliction from such an unladylike hobby, as it seemed. But it wasn't a hobby…It hadn't been one for her. It had been simple training, for the big one, the first fight, the one she had expected to happen today. Yet, expectations felt drastically short of the reality, and so Shang Xiang returned once more to her situation, cooped up in a tent in the main camp of this veteran army.

She didn't want to be so aggravated, so hateful of the people who she respected and truly cared for. It was just…well, why couldn't they treat her the way she wanted to be treated, the way she figured she deserved to be treated. She wasn't some fragile maiden who would snap at the slightest hint of trouble, though if she did, didn't everybody have their rough times in the beginning too? Didn't they? Exactly what did Father truly feel when he, as the story went, leapt onto the Chang Jiang's shore to surprise some pirates and pretend he was leading a battalion to capture them?

Maybe thinking about the actual battle would calm her down. It was really a fairly simple plan, for a fairly straightforward battle that would cap off a rather direct campaign. Having shattered the established defences of the enemy, the armies of Yuan Shu, had, under her father's command, now laid siege to Jing Zhou, better known by its name as Xiang Yang, before it became Liu Biao's capital. Soon, it would be over, and another tale be added to the growing legend of the Tiger of Jiang Dong, while the younger Yuan would be closer to besting the elder.

If only they would let her be part of that legend. She didn't even want her own tale, just a share of the glories that had fallen upon the Sun clan, one not seen since the days of Sun Tzu and Sun Bin. Oh sure, she could have a share as the demure princess, a silent beauty in the background, but that was too dull a life. Besides, looking pretty came naturally to a well-born maiden like her. Frustrated maids would even claim she went out of her way to mar her looks, what with all the hurts and scrapes and strains she had put herself through, plus that terrible short boyish haircut she insisted on for practicality, when she pushed training just a little bit too far. But she didn't care. She wanted battle, for that would be glory earned!

The silence was broken. There was a slight commotion outside of some sort. Shang Xiang's head rose, pondering this. Was this a chance for her to escape the safety of prison, maybe? Maybe it was a chance to contribute and do something worthwhile even. The young girl slipped on her sandals and stood up, fixing her head band and making sure her clothes hadn't been ruffled up too much by her earlier tantrum and subsequent sulking…Yeah, that was probably not the best way to prove she was ready for this, huh? Ah well, now she was. Hopefully.

Putting a light, silk covered, decorative leather cuirass over the short, revealing top she wore for mobility in training, she hung the straight jian blade on her back going one way, with her quiver going over it and poking out over the other shoulder, criss-crossing the straps in front of her slim body, one still caught between a woman and a child, but rapidly leaning towards the former, and stunningly so. She tucked the dagger into her yellow silken leggings around her knees, and then finally grasped that elegant bow of hers, almost as long as the short young lass was tall, and grinned, finding herself facing a long mirror, brushing the short skirt out to its full length. Tightening the tough girdle around her waist, she started on steady stride to the doorway. Well, now to see if she could get out of here. Shouldn't be too hard if she put her mind to it, was what she figured.

Quietly, she stalked up to the entryway, emboldened at every step. Fools! Leaving her these weapons? Sure, supposedly, it was out of respect for her wishes, but hah, they'd just underestimated how far she'd go for a fight. She played the scene over and over in her head, in the mere moments before she would leap out and smack the hard wood of her bow over a guard's head, knocking him out, and then use his falling form to push up and smash the guard on the other side in the face with a swift kick to the jaw. Then, she would run through the lines of tents…Out the gates, off to war!

Yeah…it was a really basic, and childish idea, but what else could really be expected of a young teen? Then again, considering another such plan had snuck her onto the Yuan army's wagon train, maybe it would work out…somehow. She was about to go for it, but stopped, finding herself rather chilled by the wind coming through the entrance. After all, a fair bit of her was still bare, the tawny skin exposed to the gusty breeze, especially her arms. The lady retreated slightly to grab a red embroidered jacket, with a flashy, translucent white collar that obscured her thin neck. It was one that would match the orange and yellow silk that decorated her cuirass, or so she figured. And then, she once more waltzed up to the entrance, and prepared to lash out with a primal fury. Taking one foot back, her frame tensed up, ready to spring.

It went by in a blur, and in moments, Shang Xiang found her soft posterior landing ungracefully on the hard ground. It wasn't due to fierce resistance, or unexpected preparedness or a fault in her assault upon the guards. Simply that she hadn't figured on the fact that there weren't any guards outside her tent at all. Flustered, and a little dizzy, the girl hopped to her feet and brushed her skirt clean, quite miffed at the fact that nobody had been stopping her exit all along. Ugh, and what was that smell!? Like one of her attempts at organizing a banquet preparation that had gone awry when her daydreaming of martial feats interfered with the carefully listed stove times for the dishes in their respective recipes…

Blinking a couple of times, she realized exactly where her guards had gone. One obviously didn't ignore an inferno that would engulf one's tent, general's orders or not…


	2. The Wooden Walls

Okay, for one moment, she'd admit she was scared. Terrified even. Definitely ready to flee in horror and all that. Maybe to her tent, maybe a couple of miles down the road. There was that hamlet there she could take shelter in, yeah. Heavens above, she wanted to run screaming all the way back Ru Nan and mother.

But that was only for one moment. Then, she gripped her bow tight and advanced into the heat, her deep green eyes squinting from the furious warmth as she strode closer to the centre of the blaze. There she found men rushing about, attempting to put the raging fires out with bucket, pail and jug. It was good that the camp was planned well. Their source of water was not easily blocked by enemy action, and, by the amount of water the men were liberally using to rescue their possessions, this had obviously not been attempted. Still, the fire itself was worrisome, for how could one of the General's veterans have been as careless as to cause a…

Oh, that whistling sound was so, so very familiar. Though, the snapping, crackling noise that accompanied it made the little archer maiden look up. Sure enough, a volley of arrows was what she spotted…And aflame? Well, that explained…

Shang Xiang blinked a little and then realized she was being yelled at. A frantic pair of soldiers were waving her over, flailing their wooden shields up and down as if to signify they would give her…

Her feet didn't give her time to finish the thought. What are you doing, girl!? Standing out in the open like that in barrage of arrows. Are you crazy? The princess' pace picked up when a burned out arrow wedged into the ground behind her, barely missing her hair. Oh, why didn't she bring her own shield? Well, she already knew why. Shields had this tendency to really mess with the balance of her lithe frame in fencing, and there was no place for one in archery. Still, as she careened into the ducking pair of soldiers, as if being closer to the ground would make the arrows ignore them or something, Shang Xiang panted her thanks. And then she realized these were the two men who had originally been on guard duty.

Her eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Hey, wait! No, you're not taking me back to the tent!"

Big mistake. Despite her flashy, and elegant outfit, the guards, thoroughly focused upon the volleys and the fire engulfing their worldly possessions, had completely forgotten they were supposed to be riding herd on a princess of the Sun clan. Until she'd mentioned it once more, of course, but how was any terrified lady to know that?

One guard grumbled, "Oh, fuck. Completely forgot. Oughta follow orders, don't we?"

"We ain't salvaged our stuff yet…but I suppose it's a lost cause. Now, you watch your mouth 'round the princess there," replied the other, before looking down at the aggravated child and hoping, quite foolishly, that she would cooperate, "Milady, please. We ought to return you to the tent. It'll be safer there."

The maiden looked up, her hands on her hips, snapping, "What, just because it's bigger, it won't catch fire?"

"Well, it will...But, the arrows-"

"-can go right through it too! And I won't even see them so I can dodge!" she finished, looking quite smug about her remark, though, of course, the reasoning was only half right. It was awfully hard to dodge a falling arrow, after all, probably beyond even the well honed agility of the bow wielding brat. The first guard, however, was impervious to reason, childish or otherwise

He snatched the princess' sleeve then started to try and frog march her along back to the tent, earning a hearty slap for his efforts. "Unhand me this instant! I demand you let go! I'm a respectable lady of the house of Sun, daughter of the Lord of Chang Sha and I insist that you let me go!"

And with the forceful words, she swings her arm away and walks off. Well, tries to at least. The man's grip had surprisingly stayed firm. No one did that. That meant trouble, treating her like that! How dare he…He was so going to get it…

"Useless ignorant oaf! Let me go! Now!!! You are in so much trouble…" But the man laughed. Of course, while the eunuchs and civil servants back home cowered from that steely gaze that was as hard as jade as it was green as the…well, same substance, old warrior veterans didn't cower from childish tantrums so easily. However, this certain bratty princess had years of secretive martial training, lending some added strength and surety to the startling kick she unleashed in that most vulnerable of masculine body parts.

The observing guard sighed and gently approached the irate princess, who had pounced on his hapless comrade, "Milady, this isn't a noble's court where we must obey your every whim. Out here, we're under military law, and we can't disobey our orders. Please, out of the combat zone. It's for your own safety. Milady, you aren't even in a reasonable amount of armour!"

An enraged gaze came up to meet him, rather offended. Reasonable amount? That's ridiculous! This armour was heavy and annoying already. It was starting to chafe even…How you could wear…Well, okay, it seems he did wear heavier stuff. Less sturdy, but it definitely covered a lot more of his body. Oh…that made sense now…

More whistling…An arrow thudded down beside her, which caused the guard to rush…almost crush, on top of her protectively. The lady grunted as she was squished between her two guardians, but was more than thankful for the awkward position she heard arrows clang against the protective shield hovering over her. She felt the squeeze even more as an arrow glanced off the man's hardened leather scales. But the latest flaming volley now ended and he finally edged off her.

"Apologies, milady," but she shook her head, grinning meekly, "You have my thanks. Still, I just want to help in this fight. They may not let me in the field, but it seems the battle has been brought to our camp. What's the point of sequestering me?" She pouted, then smirked at the man behind her, "Hey, I didn't hurt you that bad. Get up already…"

"Leg…hit…" and the princess' eyes widened, as she dropped down to the guard's thigh, seeing the arrow embedded. And all because she had flattened him out of some pointless indignation. She was…she was getting in the way, just like her Father had said. No! NO! She wouldn't get in the way. She would fight back. Where…to the wall, now!

The guard tried to grab her, in the midst of explaining something she had now completely ignored, her mind throbbing in anger at herself and her foolishness. No more wasting time. Time to fight the battle she wanted to fight. She was too fast. He almost slipped, lunging for her, for her speed dazed him. After a couple more strides, the wooden palisades started to loom before the little lady. Still, undaunted, she pressed on, wanting to fire back with her own bow There was a distinct pleading series of yells behind her, but she outdistanced the voice swiftly and barely skidded to a stop at the walls, instinct propelling her up the ladder, onto the parapets. At the speed she came in, she would've fallen right over to the other side, had her footing been unsure. But battle possessed the Sun daughter, and the bow she carried swiftly came up.

A shot, hurrah! She hit…nothing, but it was a shot back. Sure gave one of the archers a start. She giggled savagely, if such a thing was possible, as she knocked off another bolt, this time, finding a mark, as her breathing started to return to a more normal state. But that lasted for less than a moment. Notching a third arrow in at a remarkably well honed speed, her careful aim was for nought as an arrow breezed right under her skirt, getting awfully close to her. Furious at her wasted shot, for she had been rushed into releasing her arrow, she fumbled for the feathers of another arrow…but felt another such projectile nick her cuirass, one come awfully close to burying in her neck, and one catching in her yellow leggings. Some thudded off the wooden logs as well, and more whizzed by. Why were they all targeting her!? This wasn't fair…

She slunk down below the parapet, dismayed at how vastly she was outshot by the soldiers outside, huddling against the sharpened tips jutting upward, past the height of the protected walkway. What were the other archers doing? How come they had so heavily targeted her!? Arrows were still coming down around her, and she could hear the crackling of some embedded in the wood. But she knew they wouldn't catch. The logs were too big. Staring down the walkway, Shang Xiang realized her mistake, and thanked the Heavens she had been so lucky. Of course! The archers were using the available cover to effectively negate numbers. Now, why didn't she ever get taught to do that by her instructor? She knew the answer right away.

Her instructor hadn't expected her to actually have to apply her archery, which, if conditions were perfect, was superb, to any real battlefield situation. And now she was paying for it. Ugh…oh for some proper field experience and she wouldn't be doing anything stupid like that…

She whimpered as a couple of louder thuds came on the wall, and gulped, staring up at the sky, summoning her nerve to rise up once more and return fire. When she deemed the arrows had lessened, and the snipers moved on to trying to pick off other targets, she hopped up, took a quick gander, and unleashed a couple of shots, more for speed than accuracy. She ducked back down, not having a clue if she'd killed anyone, but after waiting for the nearest archer to her left to rise, she did to, and unleashed another quick bolt, finding she had managed to kill one earlier…Or at least one of her targets had fallen dead between when she last saw him and now…

Eagerly finding the new technique to be working like a charm, she popped up once more…only to fall on her rear a moment later, as the edge of an arrow split some of the striking brunette's hairs, and ripped through her headband, completely bewildering the lady. She gasped, pondering how close that had been, and realized she needed to adjust her technique, as she observed her compatriots upon the walls move left and right, showing their heads at different locations all the time. That made sense too. Oh, if only she had been taught this before, she wouldn't be wasting time learning the ropes now, in the middle of a real fight.

As she analyzed her situation, she felt heard a gasping breath behind her. She turned, and flashed a smile at the guard scaling the ladder, trying to hide her own worries and show she was dealing quite capably with the situation. But his eyes only showed growing anguish as he looked up to shout, "Princess…Watch out! Ladder…"

Shang Xiang turned her neck for what seemed an eternity, the realization of a shadow starting to loom over her coming painfully slow...Those few moments felt like ages to the maiden. She noticed first the steel cloaked edges of a siege ladder poking up over the parapets. When had that gotten there? How? She had been hiding against them for the most part, with just arrows thudding…Oh, Shang Xiang, you are a deaf fool! Fearfully, her eyes gazed up as the figure upon the wooden contraption mounted the wall, sword raised. She needed her own. Move your hands, move them now. Sword. Sword in hand! Need the sword, right now. It's on your back, pull it out. Move those hands and pull it out already! Stab him, now…C'mon!

But her arms wouldn't move, wouldn't respond to her hasty scheme to protect herself. She had the moves planned out, how to disarm this man in seconds, and send him toppling back to join his buddies in seconds more…Yet Shang Xiang needed her sword for that, and her arms remained puzzlingly clutching her elegant bow. Why couldn't she move them!? They clung to the bow as if it would kill her to let go. And yet it seemed so obvious it was her death that was called for if she didn't grab her blade…

Her right hand twitched free, finally, thankfully…but he was upon her, spitting foam in her pretty face. Too late!


	3. School of Hard Knocks

Still alive. Still in one piece. Still clutching that stupid bow. What just happened? What in Heaven's name had just occurred in front of her?

Yeah, Shang Xiang had closed her eyes. All she'd felt and heard was some grunting, some screaming…screaming that sounded like her voice, as much as she wanted to deny it, and someone shaking her, pleading...

Now those big green eyes were open once more…and staring into someone's ass. Yes, it was a rather awkward thing to stare at when you're already baffled by the entirety of your first immersion into the true confusion that was melee combat. But there she was, frozen up like a frail snowflake on a stout wooden wall, staring at a soldier's butt, shaking around in her face…

Dismayed…for want of a better word, by the sight, she wanted to scramble backwards, and barely checked herself when her right hand caught only air behind her. Oh, right, she was on a ledge. She spun her head around stiffly, studying what was around there. Her gaze was glassy, as if she wasn't really herself, and for a moment, she stared at the bloody corpse beside her without a peep. Her head swung around, as she stared blankly at the bowman to her right getting shot off the wall…Her eyes traced his downward path. That ought to hurt, she figured.

Her leg hurt. Had she been shot? She traced the shapely limb down its stretch, the only lengthy parts of her short frame…And found a foot on it. Ow. Owww. "OUCH!"

The foot came off as she yelped. And her paralysis faded too. She could bend her hand upwards…and out came the glinting, expensive sword. The step had moved the dancing posterior to the side, and in one fluid motion, Shang Xiang regained a vertical base, her feet under her, but still crouched like a cat ready to pounce. She had just watched another man attempting to scale the walls get stabbed by a flashing spear point, but not fall. He had just been hurled off the ladder, onto the palisade's points, by the person behind him who came storming up. Her beleaguered guard wearily stabbed again, but his spear cracked off a sturdy buckler, and he went wide eyed at the sight. She snapped at him, 'Draw your sword!" and leapt.

Her bow came flying out first, the ivory encased tip cracking against the person's jaw as he tried to swing his legs over to the wooden structure. Having dazed him, she went in for a stab with her flashing rapier, and he staggered. But two steps worth of momentum wasn't enough to send him over the top. Suddenly, the dying body started pushing against her, so swiftly it almost overwhelmed her.

Her blade slid out, and her legs bent, before shoving off to get her out of the way of the falling body. The glint of metal flashed in her eyes, and she caught herself, slowing down to find her slender waist slamming into a spear shaft, its wielder having thrust it out much too early, eager to mount the wall. Shang Xiang darted forward again, all nervousness now gone, and the instinctive drive of repetitive training pushing her. As she hacked at the man's hand, gripping the weapon, it dropped loose, heavy and unwieldy, and he stared, horrified at the bloody stump.

Hah, now it was their turn to freeze up! For it had dawned on her exactly what she had gone through. It had been humiliating, embarrassing even, for she'd bragged back home that she wouldn't freeze up like that on her first time…Oh, how Brother would be laughing, if he'd seen it. Good thing only this guard would know. She'd never be able to stand her brother teasing her about it all day, for he had never experienced it in battle…Or so he claimed. She seriously doubted that.

Her thoughts snapped back to the present, as she stabbed the handless soldier twice more, before the guard finally came to her aid…with a broken spear shaft to the back of the head. Grumbling, she shrieked, "Why haven't you drawn your sword, man! That's no weapon…"

But he shook his head and said something that sounded like…"Don't own one," before swinging the slender wood like a club. It clanged against a shield, a dull metallic noise, and Shang Xiang, having only had a moment to ponder that unlike her, most of the soldiers didn't have the wealth to equip themselves past a single weapon, pressed forward. A makeshift club was no match against a sword, and that brought the weight of knocking this ladder down solely upon her shoulders.

A tall order it was, to be sure, but Shang Xiang wanted to prove herself. She wasn't going to be daunted. She would not freeze up again! Her blade slashed in, striking first blood, and she was barely parried from going any further. Sidestepping a wild swing, she aimed for the hilt, and twisted her blade around, then pushed down with surprising firmness; she forced the abashed man to force his sword up. And then it was over. A flick of the wrist, and the princess sent it flying out of his grasp. A smirk was on her face as she continued to point the blade at her aggressor.

Yet, too used to beaten opponents conceding to her in a duelling environment, her grin faded as he suddenly lunged at her. Hastily her eyes shut for the expected impact, and she simply stabbed forward, having been caught inwardly celebrating too much to really use her nimbleness and get out of the way. But the force never hit her, and she found the man skewered right through his gaping mouth, sliding off her thin sword, which bent gently as he fell away. "Eww!"

Now, to deal with that ladder. Swallowing her lunch again, rather distastefully, for it had attempted to come up of its own accord, she clipped her bow on her belt, and headed over to lend a hand to the guard, who was shoving at the ladder with all his might. But she drew her hand back, the moment she put it on, as she saw a thin long shadow come over it. In a moment, the large blade of a woodsman's axe came crashing down on the ladder's head. And behind the fearsome weapon came the ferocious visage of a veteran

This one had to be dealt with quickly, she figured, and she hopped in, as earlier, ready to strike a piercing, fatal blow…Only to find her sword bend against the tough armour as the man brought the axe up and flailed widely at the stubborn guard. His weapon embedded temporarily in the palisade, he used it to vault over, ignoring the maiden's furious stabbing at his armoured back.

This just wasn't working! What to do, what to…Axe incoming! She blinked, aghast and flatfooted, then laughably tried to block with her needle thin blade. The results were…nowhere near ideal. Luckily for her, the axe was a plain old woodsman's friend. It had a blade on one side, and being on the other side of the man, it was more of a club being swung at her than anything. Still, when the blow smashed into her chest, she felt the thin metal crumple from such stress, and her torso shudder, completely shaking her lithe figure up. And then she found herself flying. Was that her feet up there?

Seeing the ledge come up at her aerial form fast, she stuck her arms out, grunting as the jolting shock of impact shot through her limbs, but then the athletic maiden pushed off for a backflip, a smirk forming on her face, as she saw an axe swipe through where her arms just were. Maybe she should try another flip as she landed, with surprising grace, despite her aching body, and moved to duck a third swing. Unfortunately, her landing hadn't been the perfect somersault she had envisioned. The biggest hindrance being, her right leg had run out of ledge. Shang Xiang's smile turned into a round 'o' of surprise as the downward motion of her dodge kept going and going and going…

Sand. Coarse, grimy, sticky sand. The lady whimpered as she agonizingly struggled for consciousness for what seemed forever. Getting on her hands and knees, she coughed up a little dust, a little spit, a little blood. That had been a nasty fall. Of course, it didn't occur to her that had the palisade's been a couple of feet higher, it would have likely been fatal. Shaking her head, she brushed the sand from the smooth skin of her face, wincing as her hand wandered over a cut in her rosy lips.

Shakily getting up to her hands and knees, she looked about her, wondering where her weapons were. Immediately, she spied her bow, tangled up in the wreckage of some cloth to the left. Her rapier's hilt glinted ahead of her, somewhere In front, but the rest of it was obscured. It was expected, having crashed into a tent and all. For that was most likely what this mess of canvas she was caught in had been, before impact. And to her right, was the guard…

"Ugh…sorry, couldn't stop…" and then she realized there was no point. His neck ended in a bloody stump. That made adrenalin surge through the girl again, weary as she was. Scrambling back from the decapitated form, she yelped as she was yanked to her feet before she could get to her bow. Craning her neck fearfully, she found herself staring into the face of the rugged axeman, her legs stumbling awkwardly beneath her. Squirming, she flails desperately as she is caught up in her jacket, whimpering, too tired to really do much. She hadn't realized how much more constant battle took out of you than training did…until now.

"Well, now, you were that little brat up on the wall? Why, you're obviously no soldier." The man looks at her menacingly, as she kicks and strains harder, trying to get free. "I think it'd be best if you settled down, girlie…Wouldn't want you ending up like your soldier friend there…" he notes, before bringing the axe blade menacingly close to her face. She takes one look at her bedraggled expression off the reflective metal, and then sees the man's wild grin behind her, and she stops, remembering the decapitated guard. Her neck was thin and vulnerable, and her eyes grew larger still as he deliberately moved the blade closer and closer…

"Stop! Stop! Don't you dare…I am the daughter of the great General Sun and he will have your life if you harm another hair on my head!" she insisted, wondering if that would have any pull on her assailant. She was happy her voice was still strong and insistent, even when she felt so weak, but his reaction was the worst she could have expected.

He laughed.

Gulping, the princess looked around…This was their camp! How come no one was coming to help her? They knew she was the Sun daughter. Where were the soldiers of the General!? For that matter, where was the General. No one had heard since he had ridden south, earlier today, and all they had gotten is this flanking assault on the camp from a different direction…

"Why do you laugh? It's true! I am a princess of the noble clan of Sun! Let me go, oaf." But he handled her even more harshly, chuckling.

"And how, my dear lady, is a dead man going to have my life?"

For a moment, Shang Xiang swore she had died. The world had faded away around her, and her soul had left that slim fourteen year old shell. And then, an attempt to wrench her struggling form, and her grieving heart beat once more. Why should she believe the wisecracks of a bumbling commoner? Her left foot came up, and went down in a stomp…"You lie!!!"

A savage roar came from her binder, and he almost let her go. But he grunted through the pain, and lifting her lithe form airborne, she found herself bouncing across the sand, each impact scathing her tender skin and knocking her about. Her breastplate went askew, her quiver fell off, the straps that stretched to her girdle from her upper armour, cut asunder. She lay painfully on her side, her vision blurry, her vulnerability impressed upon her. So this was what they meant by the rigors of the battlefield. Well, she'd definitely failed her test here today…Question was, would she ever get a chance to try again…

A shadow came over her, as the left hand clutched an aching midriff, and the other caressed an injured thigh. She looked up meekly, distressed to see that wild face. He gave a hearty laugh…well, in Shang Xiang's ears, it was the most evil laugh imaginable, but still, hearty. The man noted, "Princess, right? That explains the looks, I suppose. Pretty…for a child, and-"

But she had stopped listening. A memory jumped right to instinct, and her right hand clenched, indignant fury replacing humiliating failure in her eyes…

She only heard him finish, "-do you think? Tonight…you can say hello to my little friend."

"Why wait?" she coughed, not exactly ignorant of what this rascal meant. "Your little friend…" she winked menacingly, "-can say hello to mine."

And she stabbed between his legs, again, and again, and again. And then, with both hands, she wrenched the hitherto hidden dagger up his groin, right through his soft belly and stopped at his chest, hitting bone. His insides spilled, churning hot on her, abdomen, skirt, and her yellow leggings, all soaked in bile and blood. His axe gave a dull thud as it hit the ground, followed by his knees. Staggering back from the corpse, she collapsed, gasping for breath.

Shang Xiang's lunch suddenly decided it was an apt time to once more go on the warpath. And this time, they managed to overcome the little girl's constitution, as she threw up beside the heedless dead.


	4. Combat Fatigue

One of these days, when she got to finally speak to whatever important higher powers that be, up there, Sun Shang Xiang decided she would really like to ask why they figured the ability to retch and vomit was important…or even necessary, for the human body. One of these days, yes. Not today though.

No, she hadn't forgotten there was still a whole battle raging up on the walls, and that she needed to get back into it, somehow. Ought to take it slow for now, really, but was there time to just lie here? That was doubtful. For all she knew, someone was standing right over her, ready to plunge a sword into her back.

Oh, why did she just have to think the worst possible thoughts ever? So silly of he- Hey, is that a shadow? Shang Xiang stared at the ground, eyes wide open, and then hurtled into action, not really occurring to her that it would probably have been too late if the person had hostile intent.

Not that hurtling into action did much. Her legs were lifeless, exhausted, and her body pretty out of it, so she basically lost momentum immediately, attempting to get up from her crouch on the ground, and, with those legs she was pretty proud of unable to respond, she managed to trip over herself in panic, with the most immediate result being smearing her face in vomit.

The first immediate thought that came to her involved mourning the loss of the makeup she had put on this morning. Immediately after, there was a mental curse involving a fatal stab wound. Coming right after this was a wish she had been able to say goodbye to the family, Father especially. Her last nine words to him had been…well, to be honest, they had all been outraged curses, the order of which she couldn't really remember. Wait, why wasn't she dead yet?

She rolled onto her back to stare up, but found her vision obscured by the yucky substance she had fallen in. Hastily, she wiped it off, but the acidic taste was simply replaced by that warm, thick, slightly salty liquid that was the mingling of sweat and blood on her palm, a result of her earlier knife work. Though, she did gain the ability to see clearly now, which obviously, was quite the boon. It took her a couple more moments to recognize the familiar face, and then she smiled. It was one of her maids, who seemed to be hastily waving her hand…And, at this, Shang Xiang tilted her head up a bit, before her bright smile grew to a grin, seeing a couple more come up to where she lay.

Then, she lowered her head to find a hand being offered to help her up. Not pausing to think about the blood that soaked both palms, she grabbed onto it eagerly and found herself unflinchingly attended to, just as she had expected she would be. Finally, a bit of safety she could lean on…But not for long. Just let her recover her wits a little, and then she could jump back into the fray. She had no idea how the fight was going, but hopefully, nobody else got through. Now, to tell her girls that-

"Mistress, we must away to your tent!"

No! Not you too! Why? Why, oh why! Don't abandon my side now! We need to fight…But Shang Xiang was too tired to explain herself much. She struggled against her grip, and tried to stalk away, towards the walls. But the maiden gripped her firmly, unable to hear her incoherent mumbling. Against her will, the worn out lass was guided gently to the camp's centre, where her tent lay, while the other two maids swiftly recovered her armaments, well, the sword and the bow at least. Any sane person would really be given pause by the thought of recovering a dagger from someone's bowels, especially since they were starting to get that expected stench. However, they soon proceeded directly after.

Shang Xiang soon found herself ushered to her tent, realizing her sorry state was definitely drawing passing stares from soldiers still rushing about to try and organize some sort of defence against the assault. She wondered where the person in charge was. Surely, he was at the walls, keeping those assailants at bay.

Or not… For as she entered through the flaps of her tent, she found herself staring at the imposing bulk of Lord Huang, a boon companion of her Father and a sturdy, stalwart commander. He was giving her that unnerving look he possessed, as he scratched his grizzled beard, keeping his arms crossed in front of his cuirass. What was he looking at? They made eye contact for a mere moment, before the usually headstrong princess faltered, looking down dejectedly, and waiting a short while, awkwardly keeping her hands clasped in front of her blood stained belt.

"Look at me."

Her head shot up, her neck jolting in response. She felt awfully small in front of him, smaller than when she had faced that axe swinging brute of a man. The princess gulped, wondering how long she had to keep staring at him. She almost didn't want to even blink, her big green eyes getting a bit blurry as she simply kept staring. Meanwhile, she watched as his eyes wondered, studying her slight figure, and the messy, bile covered, blood splattered, grime soaked, sand cloaked, dirt choked state it was in.

"Ever heard of military discipline?"

He wouldn't…He wouldn't do that. Father and he were friends. He wouldn't hurt his favourite daughter…But those eyes bore an anger that Shang Xiang could only hope to dream of impressing upon people when she herself went into a furious tantrum in times past. They bore a silent scolding abuse that made her wilt like one of the flowers in the vases of her room. But…was it only her or was he now smiling,

"Heavens above, what have they done to you? I'd thought you'd be screeching abuse at me by now…Come 'ere, girl." He chuckled, the relieved tone matching her own feelings at the moment, as the red-faced princess stumbled forward, her lungs busy making up for the few tense moments the girl had forgotten to breathe. Blushing, she hurled herself into the imposing form and clutched tight around it, sniffling for moments, before breaking out into full sobs. Shang Xiang returned to sniffles once more as she felt a comforting hand pat her repeatedly on her headband, which felt some slight pulling as it was straightened back from being knocked askew by an awkward blow from earlier…

The princess finally withdrew, leaning back from the man who was so close to their family, she called him 'Uncle'. All the other officers were pretty tightly knit to the Sun clan…But he was the only one she called Uncle. Master Cheng, Minister Zhu and Commander Han were her respective names for the others, but obviously nothing as endearing as Uncle Huang.

He brushed the grime off of a rosy cheek, shaking his head at her appearance. He motioned the maids forward, and sighed, "After all the worry and terror you've put me through, vanishing from your tent like that, I don't even get to punish you for being such a bad little girl."

"Sorry, Uncle. I just wanted to fight…" she whined, and her voice faded away, tiny and timorous in tone.

"You think I don't? I wasted my time searching for you instead of organizing a force to put the spreading fires out or hold the palisades," he grumbled, more annoyed than angered. He motioned the maids forward to Shang Xiang, and demanded, "Any serious injuries on her?"

A maid humbly noted, "I've given the Lady a cursory inspections, and nothing seems off aside from a few scrapes and bruises. We'd have to undress her to really tell…"

"Say no more. I'm just happy she lives. Let me handle the fire now and solidify the defences. I shall be back when you are finished…" he asserted, and then strode out of the tent, the last sentence more a gruff reminder to the girl that she wasn't exactly off the hook yet, than an order to the maids.

The time went by swiftly, as the princess was changed into another of her dresses and assisted onto her bed, her body mostly cleaned up of the muck of the battlefield and her recent experiences. She was to the point of dozing off from fatigue as a maid worked out a couple of kinks in her arm while another gently rubbed ointment on a nasty cut on her arm, left by the streaking tip of an arrow. However, her eyes stayed open as the tent flap was pulled back and once more, Lord Huang came in.

"How fares the camp, General?"

"Fairly well, but I fear if Lord Liu or that Zu dog of his find a way to bring greater force to bear on the walls, we might just find ourselves embattled right here instead. Hopefully, this is just a minor surprise force that slipped through. It's odd though. I expected some warning if it'd happen." He advanced towards where she lay, resting, and looked at the maid.

The servant hastily noted, "She's quite fine, Commander. I think the biggest injury was to the Lady's pride, really." But she bit her tongue as Shang Xiang gave a sidelong glare.

Huang Gai shook his head, shrugging, "Way I hear it, our little princess here acquitted herself quite well, though, her actions were ill-advised. I'd punish the guards supposed to keep her here…but they're both dead. So, what, milady, am I to do with you?"

She sighed, "Uh…let me rest?" Hopefully, he would just leave her alone. She'd frozen up, gotten shot at and been hurled around already. Wasn't that punishment already?

"I suppose the princess has now finally had her fill of battle? It would probably the only good thing coming from all this…" He questioned, leaning a bit closer, looking quite concerned really, and he added, "I fear you've seen much too quickly, the horrors of the field, in one fight. I've heard bits of what you'd gone through from soldiers' who'd seen you. And I'll tell you, I've seen some men so out of it that they drop their weapon and refuse to ever soldier again. Not a bad result, really, in your case, for none of us really want you to be out here. It seems, unhappily, that now you know exactly why. Well, not exactly why, thank Heavens. I'd not have the daughter of my Lord and friend getting maimed or killed under my watch, definitely…"

"I…I can watch out for myself. And I will acquit myself in battle better…uh, next time. Won't freeze up, just as Ce never does."

The grizzled warrior laughed, then shrugged,

"Still intent on it, huh? Sigh…most girls who enjoy martial feats eventually do grow out of it. But it seems the immersion headfirst has only tempered your fire and your blade…" He paused, unsure what to say. Then, he resumed, "It seems your mother's wish for a daughter has only been half-fulfilled. The General has another soldier of a Sun, whether he likes it or not. Then again, knowing your mother, for all I know, she may have wanted you to be this very sort of daughter…"

He stood up again, and patted her on the head, indulging himself a little by ruffling her brunette curls, which induced a giggle from Shang Xiang. Both grinning, he started to leave, before turning to say, curious, "Ce still teases you? Stop letting him. His first battle, he only watched. You fought. Did you, uh, really…stab…y'know, in the…y'know?"

Frowning immediately, she crossed her arms and snapped, "He said he was going to introduce me to, uh, his…" She sighed as Uncle Huang was already putting forth another round of good mirth, but then, jolted straight up, horrified. How could she have forgot?

"Uncle Huang. The fellow I stabbed? He told me Father was dead!"


	5. When in Doubt

Somebody, say something. Seriously, I feel so awkward now…I…I just want to cry. I should…

And Shang Xiang's head dropped into her now cleaned palms, wetting them again, this time with tears. But a heavy hand fell on her shoulder and the warmth was comforting…Until it shook her. "Ah! What?"

She stared, stifling her sobs, into the steely eyes of the veteran. He shook his head, and said, "I'll believe it when I see the body. Don't give up hope just yet, lass. You're always so full of it…why of all times, would you believe what someone else tells you now?"

Shang Xiang blinked. And her tears dried up. What the hell did that lousy brute know anyways? And she…fell for it. That's all it was. A boast to scare her, an answer to her threat…A reassurance for himself. Coward! Hah, Father couldn't be dead. He was the General. But…then again, he did have a penchant for fighting in the thick of it. Anybody with the hot blood of the Sun clan did…even her, now that she thought about it. Why else had she gone dashing off against orders? Shang Xiang hiccupped, then sighed, "My, I can't believe I fell for such a lousy trick…"

Then, she found her uncle, squatting down in front of her, whispering in a low voice, as the maids awkwardly bustled away, cleaning up the bloody mess that was her old outfit, "Girl, I'm not going to lie. If an old soldier up and tells you he watched a man die…he probably did. Otherwise, he'd either say someone told him he was dead, or lie and say he actually killed him himself. But let's not get our hopes down. As I said…when I see the body…"

Shang Xiang shook her head, insistent, now that a version of events was etched in her head. It must be true! "No…he was trying to spook me. He did it well two. He wanted me to be meek and stay there and not keep trying to fight…and almost managed it. Saying that…really knocked me off guard."

"I didn't see you fight. But I was scared the entire time I fought in my first battle. And my second. Third too. And it still gets my stomach churning quite a bit. I know you're a brave little lass. Hell, that's an understatement. But really, it just makes no sense as a lie. I've seen and heard of many far more effective and simpler ways to unnerve someone on the battlefield than a verbal threat, milady I-"

"Commander! They've gotten reinforcements! We need you at the wall," came a voice from outside the entrance flaps, and at this, the man stood, and nodding his head as the princess sank back down into her sheets, he replied he would be coming. Then, she suddenly snapped around to speak to her maids, but the grizzled warrior, walking away, hailed them to halt. Shaking his head, he said, "I know what you're going to ask, girl. Please-"

"I need to be there! I want to help…And I want to know about Father. Maybe we'll find a soldier who knows more. C'mon, Uncle…Don't tell me this isn't important. He's my Father! I have to know. I have to know, I have to know! Please…I can get tougher gear. I've got armour that isn't as flimsy somewhere around here, and leggings instead of a skirt. I could grab one of the maid's helms…Though it's uncomfortable, and the full breastplate does make fighting feel awkward, and…"

The commander hung his head and raised his hand, seeking that she stop. After a couple more words, the princess did, sighing and toppling back into her bed, pouting at him. Unimpressed, he shrugged, "Please, do stop. I really have to leave…But I know that look, and I know you're about to throw one of those tantrums of yours, that everyone is rightly terrified of. I don't need that on my hands right now. Even if we do find information, exactly what can we do about it? If he's dead…he's dead. And if he lives, then why worry? Will you yell to all the troops that the General is dead? As I said, there are a lot more ways to turn a soldier into a nervous wreck…"

"But-"

"One of them involves gutting their captain and carving him up with a bloody dagger, while having a wild look on your face, right where everyone can see," he chuckled, which made the girl turn green at the recent memory. Exiting, he ordered, "At ease, soldier girl. You've done your part. Try and let me do mine without my having to worry, alright?"

Calming her churning stomach, Shang Xiang slumped back and sighed, then looked at the maid, curiously, "How do you stand that armour anyways? I know I had you all pick a uniform design you all liked…but that looks quite heavy…"

The maid shrugged and went about her quiet way. Shang Xiang had hopes of one day turning her and her compatriots into her own personal unit of female soldiers…but it was a long ways away, and she had to figure out how to get them to view her as their commander instead of their chore. They were friendly, and quite mischievous and encouraging of her actions…in the palace. But when these, the most trusted core of that group realized, now that they were here in the field, that this was actually not just some girly fantasy of hers, they had shrank back a bit from conceding to her every whim. They were still a long, long way from a commander and her soldiers, alright. At least, in her rather simplified view of what a commander and her soldiers should be. Then again, 'her' never was a pronoun used to describe most commanders…

The princess settled in, wincing as a few sore spots on her body protested at the movement. The shock at the possibility of her Father's death was fading. Half because it was bound to end, sooner or later, and half because she didn't believe it to be true at all now, but whatever the reason, it was fading, and her limbs were starting to hurt again. Her worries aside, exactly…well, how well did the whole thing go? She supposed gauging her on success might be a good way to pass the time until Uncle Huang hopefully brought back more news. After all, she needed to learn from experience to succeed in battle…or so her weapon mentors said.

Well…let's see. No, this isn't some field of duels, and there was no courtesy to rank at all. Hmm…cover is a very good thing. Yes, they can actually hit you. And yes, getting hit does hurt. Finding armour that didn't hinder her mobility but actually gave some more protection would be nice…And don't bother with looking pretty if going out to fight, because it gets all yucky out there. Oh, and finally, there is a lot more blood in the human body than she'd dreamed possible…

But seriously, how did that go? Was that a good fight? All she did was shoot a couple of barely aimed shots from a shaking bow, cut a few soldiers up, and get bashed around and manhandled by some brute. Oh, and did she mention freezing up, throwing up, and blacking out? The three 'must not evers' of cowardice, or so her brother laughingly called them…And she managed it all in a span of what? Ten minutes? Heaven knows it wasn't even that long. She was utterly exhausted…and she'd been in combat for a good ten minutes. No. That was not a good fight. Not even close.

Glumly, Shang Xiang rolled over on her side, staring at her weapons, all now clean. The orange cuirass was there too, dented, but it looked like it would still fit snugly on her chest and tie around her back. The girdle, with the protective, reinforced leather skirt…all clean now. Even the jacket with the charming collar was clean…or wait, was that a new one? Hey…was this a whole new set? Heavens above, these maids were either miracle workers at cleaning, or they made sure to purchase her ten copies of every outfit, with how quickly her adventurous nature wrecked them. But right now, she was happy to relax in the simple long silken robe she was in, lying in that soft bed.

Well, sorta happy. Pleased, more likely. You can't really be happy, not knowing the fate of a loved one. Especially one who you literally spat venom at when you last spoke. Over such a silly thing too…Battles weren't glamorous at all, as she had found…at least, not if you were a novice at it, but she did hope she'd make something of a name for herself, the more she did it…But to spew hatred at her father over such a useless thing as seeking the chance to get beaten up by some callous brute? She felt so stupid for doing so… By the gods, she'd give up fighting on the battlefield, if her father would just walk through that flap, and hug her and she could apologize, for, amongst other curses, wishing he was dead…

The flap was pulled back.

Oh dear. No! I'm kidding! No, I haven't sworn to give up battle forever! Ahhh…Stupid, stupid, stupid. Hmm…maybe it wasn't father. Ah, just some soldier. I suppose I'm in luck…Wait, what's a soldier doing in my tent. Hey…two of them? And they didn't even ask to come in, the idiots. What's proper decorum coming to these days? Wait…those aren't the colours of my Father's army…

Both were gawking at the unexpected scene. A young woman sitting on an awfully expensive bed, surrounded by a garishly decorated bedroom of a tent, by battlefield standards, clothed in a light robe that clung to her figure…Not exactly on the 'things to watch out for when storming the enemy camp' list, definitely. Inevitably, it was the surprised maiden that recovered her wits first, shrieking in outrage, "Just who are you and what are you doing in my tent!? Don't you people even have the decency to ask for entry? Get out!" Shang Xiang was now crouched on her bed, glaring at them fiercely, although she faltered when her hand tries to grab for a sword's hilt on her back…and she remembered she was not geared for combat right now. Nary a weapon on her person, in fact…Nor even anything that resembled armour.

As she fumbled with the realization of her vulnerability, the two gave one another a glance, and wild grins broke out on both their face, before, swords held high, they rushed the unarmed princess, intent on seizing for their own nefarious purposes, not knowing who exactly she was…just that she was one lovely lady. But they stopped mid-rush, and their eyes finally came off her curves and on to her sides. Woozy from the sudden exertion, the princess didn't notice as she fell back down on the soft sheets, disheartened at her body's continued weakness. She really needed rest…But these intruders…

A tap on her shoulder, and Shang Xiang swivelled her neck, then grinned as she watched the eight maids who had accompanied her on the army's march advancing on each side, weapons drawn. Glaring at the men, she snarled, "Take them down!" and the order was obeyed. Shang Xiang grinned. She was commanding! Sort of…Wait, she had another order to give! "Keep them alive though!"

It wasn't much of an encounter. One man tried to flee and another to fight, and both ended up disarmed and hurled to the side of her bed, helpless under the gazes of the maidens, though a couple of her girls had received some nasty cuts and one possessed a new bruise. She dismissed the three to bandage themselves slightly and laid back down to clear her head, as the maids proceeded to tie up the intruders properly. Shang Xiang grinned, and slowly sat up, her feet swinging off the bed and dangling above the ground. She ignores the maid that immediately moves to check on her, and eyes the two, flanked by her last four servants.

"So…I'd liked some answers. Either of you seen my father?"


	6. Advance to the Rear

Just minutes into her attempts at interrogation , Shang Xiang had already gotten quite annoyed with trying to prod information out of the men. It seemed, like all men, they had the uncanny ability to be utter jerks to a woman trying to do a man's job. Even the most professional of her maids were getting flustered at their lewdness and rudeness.

Sitting cross-legged on her bed, as she and her maids were mocked with regards to everything from how they should refer to what they wore as breast saucers to exactly what the obsession was with all the swords and lances and arrows. Shang Xiang understandably grew angrier, as, if this had been in a paltial or estate's setting, these men would be cowering, overwhelmed by the grandeur of Chang Sha's governatorial seat, or the Sun family estate in Fuchun Commandery.

This rage was worsened by the fact that she felt too bad to do anything about it. Still, she persisted. She had to know about Father. "Don't joke about not knowing who he is. Everyone knows the Tiger of Jiang Dong!" Her large green eyes bored into the man, trying to impress upon him her best attempt at intimidation. It took him only a single off-collar quip to send the maiden reeling.

His joke? "Not after that boulder, they won't." Not arrow. Not some amputating sword. Not even a beheading. The man had just claimed her father, the man she loved to hate and yet loved to pieces…had…literally gone to pieces, beneath a boulder. A liar would not have claimed something so audacious. And yet…this didn't seem to be the reaction of a man who had seen a fellow man, even one of the enemy, get crushed by a boulder. No sane human would laugh at the memory…right? Right?

Summoning her will, the lady snapped back, "That's a lie! Nobody would joke about such a thing." She forced herself up, her feet sliding into her flimsy sandals, then she reached for a dagger from her new set of combat equipment, before a maid took her shoulder, and whispered, "Madam, gutting one soldier was enough knifework for one day…"

Tired as she was, Shang Xiang tried to shake the restraining hand off, bristling with hatred at both captives. Shaken out of their more bemused moods, as she eyed their respective groins dangerously, the joker noted, "Milady, I'm not joking. I only say what I heard. Others claim it was arrows, or that he had been gutted by Huang Zu his self. All the accounts agree on one thing, however. They say he's dead, milady."

Shang Xiang dropped the dagger, and the maid who had her arm on her shoulder had needed to dance aside swiftly to avoid having her feet stabbed by the trembling princess' carelessness. Or was it carelessness? With the strong grip on her shoulder gone, she pounced on the man, shrieking hysterically, "So why the boulder tale? Why else but to perturb me? Well, here's your boulder…and then some more!" She snarled, swinging at his face with her small fist, bruising him around the cheeks and temple, but turning her smooth knuckles red in the process. The prisoner, roused, tried to shake her off, as his companion watched in confusion, and the maids all had their blades ready, but were unable to strike.

It was a maddeningly undisciplined attack, and once again, Shang Xiang threw all her martial arts training out the tent flap and just resorted to repeatedly swinging haymakers as best as a slip of a girl could, at the fellow's skull…the hardest part of it too. But just when the captive thought he'd gotten off easy, her leg swung up, her tender shin connecting with his tender…Well, a certain very tender organ. Then, she stormed off, back towards her weapons and that flimsy set of armour. It would do.

"Milady, why are you putting those on once more, you need rest," protested the closest maid, but she hissed as the leather rubbed up against her bandages, then answered, "These two got to our tent unmolested. That shows our lines are not enough to maintain this as a safe haven anymore."

With that, two of her maids hurriedly moved to assist, realizing it was for the best that Shang Xiang got into her armour, however flimsy and ceremonial it was. It protected better than a silken dress, and they were in a warzone. Besides, rare was the day before this that she even willingly put anything protective over her silk garments when she trained. They went behind the canvas to the maid's quarters, so that the men wouldn't see her, but a maid called out, "What are we to do with the captives?"

Shang Xiang's head peeked out of the flap, then her lip curled in distaste at the two men and she said, "Get rid of them, whatever way you prefer. Just make sure they won't ever, ever bother me again." She went back to dressing so swiftly afterwards, calmly sliding on her leggings around aching knees as she barely noted the distant sound of the men screaming wildly…and then silence.

As she slipped into her sandals, two more maids entered from the rear flap, looking quite wiped out and, spying one of their compatriots bustling about with a few more arrows to stuff into the lady's quiver. Even in her abortive first foray, she had shown some ability to fire them rapidly, if not accurately. Anyways, Shang Xiang heard one of them call out, "Hey, Liangyu, better wake our little warrior lady up. The carriage…"

The maid's voice died in her throat as she spotted Shang Xiang, limbs swathed lightly in bandages, but dressed back in a new set of that ceremonial armour. Shang Xiang's brow arched curiously, as she asked, "Carriage?"

The maid flushed, and the other explained, "Well, it's more of a supply wagon, than anything, but we made it somewhat comfortable. Just need to pack away a few more things, then we can have you moving, milady."

"Moving? Where?!" There was something in Shang Xiang's tone that hinted this wasn't anywhere near a pleasant surprise.

The maid started studying her feet intently, before mumbling, "Home"

Shang Xiang's eyes widened, then her ruby lips curling into a pout, she asked, "Under whose orders would that be?" So…her Uncle wanted to sneak her own while she was wiped, didn't h-

"Lord Sun, milady," the maid answered unexpectedly. The three words took the furious winds building up out of Shang Xiang's sails. Well, actually, the first two words did it, and the last bit sounded just a little too edgy and hurtful. It made her stumble, like a blow to the gut. Then, she looked at them weakly, hoping against hope, "Wait…so he's alive?"

"Alive, ma'am? He was fine when he gave us the orders before setting off to battle…"

The noblewoman's head fell, dejected, "Oh." Just as she thought, it had been after their spat. Her last moments with her father had been a violent row…and the last thing of her that he would remember as his soul winged its way to the heavens was a full fledged tantrum by his youngest and only daughter. The least she could do was obey him, for once. She had just gotten in the way, hadn't she. Now Uncle Huang had to work harder to keep the defenses of the camp prepared until the attacking troops got back, presuming they got back at all.

Her heart stopped at that thought. No, she shouldn't fear that. Brother Ce and Brother Yu would be fine. They were fine with their blades, and they also had Uncle Jing helping them. But what if the army had been routed? Father's troops were too good to allow a force that could attack so fiercely slip past without getting mauled first…and yet these had. Shang Xiang knew enough to know that even the death of a commander, while devastating, was still something a good army could rally from…and the Army of Jiang Dong was such an army.

She snapped out of her thoughts as she realized her shoulder was being shaken by a handmaid and blinked, then, turning towards her, she found herself being asked, "Milady, are you coming? Lord Huang has given his approval that we proceed and take you out by the road northeast. It should still be safe. Safer than here, at least" The last bit she added reluctantly, figuring it was the last thing that would get Shang Xiang to do something, daredevil of a lass that she was. But wordlessly, Shang Xiang set off, her short skirt rustling around her thighs.

Helped up by a maid into a wagon, she patiently waited for a few minutes until the rest of her possessions were packed, not least of which was that comfy bed that took a few maids to get stowed away, and then the wagon was rolling down the trail. Some of her maids walked outside while others rode with her to attend to her, all of them rotating so that they took the task in turn. Normally, they would have all ridden, but Lord Huang couldn't spare any guards right now. It seems they were lucky Shang Xiang was the only noblewoman in China with handmaids who knew how to fight, though they weren't much more experienced than the feisty princess.

Still, the road north was bare and slightly despoiled, the scene of serious earlier campaigning by her Father, the General, driving Liu Biao's underlings southward and westwards and northwards as they drove into the heartland of Jing, and so the inhabitants left in the area cowered in their homes, meaning they shouldn't run into any real trouble. After all, Liu Biao's army was still down south,

For hours, the rocking motion of the carriage made Shang Xiang sleepier than the bed could have ever made her, and what seemed like a slow progress of trees that all looked the same that had her almost convinced they were going in a circle when she was wide awake started to blur into smudges of brown and green. Onwards, the wagon's wheels rolled and until the high sun was low in the sky, and the maids started mumbling amongst themselves about setting up camp. Shang Xiang could hear discussions about using the smaller spare tents, as the pavilion took forever to set-up, as well as exactly what sort of meal to cook and what watches to set. As they finally agreed, they brought their proposals to Shang Xiang, theoretically in charge, but she just nodded to each one without objection. After all, what did a princess really know about camping in the woods?

Eventually, she found herself lead out of the wagon, and into a cozy little tent, where a maid apologetically suggested they all probably would have to sleep in armour, discomforting as that was. It wasn't so bad for Shang Xiang herself, but looking at all her maids in heavier plate and chain and scale, she was certain it would bother them all to no end. Still, it was only for the next couple of days until they were clear of this war zone. You never knew what could happen.

As Shang Xiang reclined in her tent, her thoughts finally found her awake once more, and once again, her thoughts couldn't help turning towards Father. It was probably why she was always so tired, her body and mind trying to avoid thinking about what she had and had not done, and would now never be able to do. She was given a bowl of gamey stew to slurp on as she silently pondered.

And when her meal was done, she found herself in her bed, waiting for sleep to come, and yet it would not. She had slept so much today that she just couldn't stay in bed any more. Exiting her tent, she nodded silent greetings to the two yawning maids who were standing watch by her tent, and then sat down by the tiny campfire, staring into the embers of her life. How do people keep going after something like this?


	7. Point of No Return

It was a warm spring day. Shang Xiang wobbled on her Father's knee, staring at the falling peach blossoms of the garden. His strong hands were on her shoulders, firm and steady, as Shang giggled when a blossom landed on her nose, gently. She was swaying left to ride, pretending that feel of solid leg was a horse, though, she'd never ridden a horse before, so she hadn't a clue what it really was supposed to feel like. Father should know though. He was quite familiar with horsemanship.

Years of riding down bandits and pirates and all sorts of ne'er-do-wells., and more years of leading his cavalry against the Yellow Scarves and all their splintered bands were amongst his exploits. Aiding in the reorganization of the Qiang frontier and joining the coalition that toppled Prime Minister Dong Zhuo were achievements of his as well. None of this mattered to Shang Xiang back then though. All she knew was he had been the only to volunteer to ever play 'Pony' with him. Ce had been forced once, and had been too rough on her rear, leaving him with a multitude of scratches and her in a teary tantrum. Quan had been much too timid, as if embarrassed by his precocious little half-sister, though maybe that had to do with her forcing him to do it while that sweet little girl

But Father, he'd never failed her. He was always there, holding her shoulders, swaying her about in the saddle, making her feel the galloping motion. Maybe he eventually regretted it, the game being part of the rather masculine formative years Shang Xiang had had. Learning how to ride equines had been one of the few things Shang Xiang could never crack his resolve on, and that had been a lot harder to sneak training on than using bow and blade. Oh, she knew the feel of a mount now, but she'd never gone any faster than a canter, let alone figured out how to keep her balance while wielding weaponry.

But one day…No, this wasn't right anymore. He'd died remembering her as a disobedient disappointment. She would be filial from now on, as best as she could. It was time for her to grow up, to do what she was supposed to do, as a princess, as a Sun, as Shang Xiang.

"I-"the vibrant green eyes blinked open as she started to speak. A spear blade in front of her made any further utterance catch in her throat, as she wildly struggled to comprehend the situation. She was recently returned to consciousness, and had been…dreaming. Two hands were indeed on her shoulders though, and had been shaking her, from the way her head had lolled around just before full consciousness dawned. And what had been a thigh was now a rough old fallen tree log. So she'd fallen asleep sitting down, somehow.

But where did the spear fit into all this? She looked up, and looked into the face of some unfamiliar Wu soldier, identifiable by his sash, and looking rather uncertain. A maid suddenly swiped at his spear with a look of supreme annoyance on her face that startled the spearman. His grip tightened just in time, as the pointed tip waving just in front of her nose swung down, nearly cutting into her bosom, had it not hit her cuirass, and then, only with minimal force as he attempted to counteract the downward swing. By now, Shang Xiang's vision had cleared enough to realize this was man, and her maid angrily spoke to him, "Really, stop pointing that at the Lady!"

The other female handmaiden who was awake was just standing up, having been the one who'd shaken her back to consciousness. She cried out in dismay as a spear butt shot in and bruised her companion's arm. It sounded stifled, although it brought about a soft murmur of someone stirring in one of the tents. Meanwhile, the formerly spirited handmaiden shrank back, stinging from the blow. The man who had lashed out with his spear grumbled, "We're just looking for some food. Why can't you share some? The wagon you have is loaded to overflowing…"

Snarling, the maid answered, "Because all of the things there are the possessions of milady, and we can't give out any of them without her permission, that's why!" The two spearmen looked at her incredulously, with the face of someone confused by why someone termed 'Milady' would be travelling on a wagon in the midst of a fairly deserted campaigning area.

The maid then turned to her, and she only blinked, still trying to process the situation, but the spearhead now grazing her chest was really denying her the ability to focus. Finally getting quite irritated, she said to the arguing men and women, "Get this spear of me and let me get a word in, will you?"

Her maids immediately ceased, and backed away, but the pair of soldiers seemed as angry as ever, though a bit lost, having no one to be really angry to for the next couple of moments. But as Shang Xiang slowly started to rise, dusting her skirt off, they were about to turn their anger on her, when a man stepped out of the gloom, and slapped a hand on each of the pair's adjoining shoulders, forcing them apart, and saying, "Milady, forgive my wretched men. The stresses of war have taken their toll on them." And with that, he makes a sweeping bow, then glares at the two soldiers to do the same.

Shang Xiang tinged red slightly, still unhappy with the spears pointed at her, and that this sergeant seemed as gruff and burly as that brute that had manhandled her on the camp's palisades earlier. But he was possessed of a gentle, if rather mocking tongue, and he snapped at his men. "What is with you knaves? Lower your spears. I'm certain you wouldn't want to impale these lovely maidens of Jiang Dong."

Both slowly obeyed, one of them muttering under his breath that he did, though not quite in that fashion. Apparently, it wasn't under his breath far enough, for he received a swift smack to the head from the man who was now obviously the unit's commander. He then bowed again, and said, "Apologies once more, milady. It's not everyday us soldiers spy a princess so close, wea-wear- Well, the sight of your skin, as pure as milk, glistening in the moonlight, has their wits addled. I confess, I am quite taken myself, Lady Sun."

Shang Xiang frowned at that, then decided she probably should get combat garb fashioned that covered more of her, at least, when she was older and would not grow much more, though she doubted she would indeed grow much more than her current height. Something crimson, and clad in sil-

No. No, no, no. Combat was a no, and she'd said that to herself already. Her father deserves as much. Still, the settled life of a princess, an object to be gaped and gawked at as she admirably performed her womanly duties with shyness and humility, was being shoved in her face by these soldiers right now. Could she endure such a thing? Would father really want for her such a thing?

"-we would be very grateful, Milady." She caught the man saying, realizing he'd kept on talking while she had been nursing her thoughts. Shang Xiang knew she should try to respond as a dignified, magnanimous and gracious noble would…except she hadn't a clue what she would be responding to. Not wanting to embarrass herself, she decided on the safest course of action. "It sounds reasonable enough, but if you three don't mind, I would like to confer with my maids."

She doesn't wait for their agreement. Princesses didn't wait on commoners, after all. However, she does call back to them as she joined her two maids, huddled by the tent, "Oh, and please don't gape at my back, even if you are quite taken by my skin." A maid of hers chuckles at this, while she asks the other, "Okay, I completely missed what he said. What did he want?" A flicker of annoyance passes through her eyes, before she deigns to summarize the situation for the sleepy noble.

"They want food, and according to the sergeant, they are soldiers of Wu. I'm not sure why they would be here though. The fighting's that way and I'm quite worried that something's up," explained the maid, expounding on her fears. But her companion disagreed, "Well, it's not like the generals' wouldn't leave patrols to watch their rear. Of course they're hungry though. The fighting has been so fierce and it's hard to forage."

The two kept arguing about the new arrivals, "A patrol would be a good deal more than three men…"

"Maybe they've incurred losses, casualties, they call them. Or maybe they're out there somewhere, watching, waiting to see if we'll be nice," the other maid noted, pretending to peer into the darkness.

Eyeing the wagon, the first maiden stated with concern, "I'm not sure we can feed that many more mouths…"

"It's just one time, I thought? Are they to accompany us? It would definitely guarantee your safety, milady," the other maid turns to their charge, who was technically in charge. Shang Xiang sighed. She had a feeling the two were being contrary intentionally, just so they could lay out all the pros and cons for her to completely take stock of the situation. It was one of the tactics her tutors chose to get her interested in other things aside from blades and bows.

Shang Xiang simply shrugs, then heads back, her arms crossed in front of her chest, as she stands, appraising these soldiers, then asks as imposingly as a girl could, "As soldiers of Jiang Dong, you deserve to be fed army supplies…But I am curious as to why you're here. Every man is needed to fight at the front, and it's gotten dangerous enough that Fa-the General is risking sending me back home in due haste through ravaged country as this. So why, good sires?"

The leader looks at her carefully, visibly picking his words, as if confused. Why would he be doing that? Then, he smiles and answers, "Ma'am…I thought you were aware of our presence and reason for being here. We had orders…I don't believe you wouldn't have been told, milady." He looked rather dismayed.

Feeling a little bad, she shakes her head and answers, "I'd believe it. The General never tells me anything more than I need to know, and so do his subordinates. It irritates me, I swear. I guess you're hear to help guard. Uncle Huang must have finally scraped up troops to come perform that duty. How is the situation at the fort?

The leader seemed at a lost for a moment, then finally noted, "I don't want to get your hopes up or down, milady. It was better than when you left, or he wouldn't have sent us, but a lot can change in a matter of moments in battle."

At that, Shang Xiang couldn't keep the charade anymore, as a fresh wave of sorrow welled up in her throat, threatening to choke her. Her voice cracking, she manages to squeeze out, "Sir, you have no idea…" Before suddenly, she spins on her heel, and stalks towards her tent, telling the supportive maid along the way, "Get them a spare tent, ascertain how many are in the squad, and feed them. They're here to guard me."

As she hurried off, the maid who had been against the business stood in her way, "Milady, we women are guards enough. Are you certain we can trust them?"

Shang Xiang looked at her as she slipped into her tent, and in the moonlight, her skin indeed did glisten, though the streaks of moisture on her cheeks sparkled over it all. Softly, she muttered, "I know that, but my Father's soldiers have always been a disciplined bunch. We can trust them." Embarrassingly, her voice cracked again, and her pale skin turned a pinkish hue, as she straightened her headband and fixed up her hair, preparing to hop into bed, "Besides, I have a more important job for you and your fellows, my dear maid. They can guard me…but who is to comfort me?"


End file.
